Spoilers ahead. Joe and Anthony Russo break down Loki’s surprise visit, Doctor Doom’s call on Bruce Banner, the TVA’s multiverse meltdown and that anvil.
Spoiler warning: This story describes every new scene in “Avengers Endgame: Encore.” If you’re still planning to see it, bookmark this for later.
Still here? Good.
“Avengers Endgame: Encore” added four new scenes to the 2019 movie, and directors Joe and Anthony Russo have now explained what they mean for “Avengers: Doomsday.” They talked through each one with Empire in an interview published Monday, Sept. 28.
The short version? Every new frame is a clue. “Everything is premeditated,” Joe Russo said. “Every inch of footage that you see has some relevance in some way.”
What happens at the end of Avengers Endgame: Encore?
Loki crashes Steve Rogers’ happy ending.
The original movie closed with Steve and Peggy Carter dancing in their living room. In Encore, the scene goes one beat further. There’s a knock at the door, and Tom Hiddleston’s Loki, in his TVA outfit, shows up with an offer to help them both.
Anthony Russo said that one extra moment is where “Doomsday” starts. “We really thought about that ending [in Endgame] as the perfect ending for Steve Rogers,” he told Empire. “And the idea of just going one moment past that perfect ending, and thinking about how radically that moment can change by just taking one step past it... That was a big part of the delight in the new idea for what Doomsday is and where the story goes.”
And yes, they matched the old scene exactly. “Same lighting, same lenses, same set,” Joe Russo said.
Is Loki in Avengers: Doomsday?
The Russos didn’t say it outright, but it sure sounds like it.
“Loki’s one of the most fascinating characters, and he’s had so many incarnations,” Anthony Russo said. “One of the delights of Doomsday is, you’re going to get a new incarnation of that character.”
The Encore scenes themselves won’t appear in “Doomsday,” Joe Russo confirmed. They were shot to bridge the gap.
Why does Doctor Doom visit Bruce Banner?
That’s the question the Russos worked hardest to dodge.
In the mid-credits scene, Mark Ruffalo’s Bruce Banner is hiding deep underground, and a voice, apparently Doctor Doom’s, tells him he has come to collect him. Banner is dealing with the fallout from “Spider-Man: Brand New Day,” per Joe Russo, “trying to protect the world from him. And somebody found him...”
Asked what Doom wants with Banner, Joe Russo said, “His interest may extend beyond just Banner. So, that’s what we’ll say about that.”
Is Mark Ruffalo in Avengers: Doomsday?
Officially, no comment. “We will not confirm nor deny his appearance in Doomsday,” Joe Russo said.
He did add that Banner “is certainly involved in the story that revolves around Doom.” And Anthony Russo said there are “characters and actors who have not been announced, who are a part of Doomsday.”
(So probably yes)
What does the TVA scene in Endgame: Encore mean?
The multiverse is falling apart.
The scene shows the TVA, including Owen Wilson’s Mobius and Ke Huy Quan’s O.B., watching universes crash into each other on their screens. Joe Russo called it “the most profound thing that’s ever happened to the MCU. It is the perceived end of times.”
Anthony Russo spelled out the stakes. “It is the unifying principle of combining the X-Men universe, the Avengers universe, the Fantastic Four universe,” he said.
Is Tony Stark connected to Doctor Doom?
The final scene leans hard into that idea.
Endgame originally ended with the sound of Tony Stark hammering, a callback to him building his first Iron Man suit in a cave. In Encore, the same hammering now plays over quick flashes of Victor von Doom forging his mask.
“It’s been planned all along,” Joe Russo joked. Anthony added, “It’s almost like the same actor is playing both characters!”
Then Joe got serious. “There is certainly a symmetry at play here. There is an interesting examination of good and evil at play,” he said. “And I think that that scene at the end, obviously it’s intended to be almost identical. It’s because there’s a duality being explored.”
Robert Downey Jr., who played Tony Stark, plays Doom in “Doomsday.”
Should you rewatch Avengers: Endgame before Doomsday?
The Russos say yes, and not only for the new footage.
“There are clues in Endgame, things that are said, that will pay off in Doomsday,” Joe Russo said. “So if you want to go back and revisit the movie again - not the new footage but lines that are said in the movie - [there are some] that have an impact on Doomsday.”
Encore is in theaters now. It opened to $86 million worldwide, per Disney.
Watch the Avengers Endgame: Encore trailer
When does Avengers: Doomsday come out?
Dec. 18 in the U.S. That gives you about 11 weeks to rewatch Endgame, take notes, and argue with your friends about what Doom wants with Banner.
Article compiled with the help of the Pirates & Princesses newsroom.
Pirates and Princesses is your destination for Disney news, theme park updates, and the pop culture you love. From Disney cruises and travel tips to Disney fashion, food, collectibles, and movie news, PNP covers it all. Visit us at piratesandprincesses.net for daily coverage. Follow PNP on Facebook and Instagram, and listen to the Pirates & Princesses podcast on Apple Podcasts and YouTube.
Hat Tips:
Empire (Sept. 28, 2026), the Russo brothers interview and scene details
The Walt Disney Company (Sept. 2026), opening weekend and Doomsday release date
Marvel Entertainment on YouTube, Encore trailer
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